George Bchara, 39, CFO of Conn’s, based in The Woodlands, has voluntarily resigned and will leave the company on December 1, 2023. Timothy Santo, currently the Chief Accounting Officer, will be the interim CFO. He will continue to conduct his CAO duties until a new Chief Accounting Officer has been hired.
Conn’s is a specialty retailer of durable consumer goods and has 171 stores in 15 states across the southern US. The average customer of Conn’s has a subprime credit score (defined as between 580-619).
The recent rise in interest rates provided a double whammy to the company. Its customers reduce their discretionary spending or find it harder to get credit and the company has to pay more interest on its debt.
For the six months ended July 2023, the company made a net loss of $69 million. Compared to the comparable period in 2022, retail sales fell 12%. Revenue from financing charges fell by 6% and bad debt expense rose.
Mr. Bchara originally joined the company in December 2016 as Chief Accounting Officer and was promoted to CFO in June 2019.
Mr. Santo joined the company in April 2023. He previously the Global Controller at PRA Group, a business that specializes in servicing non-performing consumer loans.